High up on Moose Mountain in Etna is the Mill Pond Forest, permanently protected by Kay and Peter Shumway through a conservation easement to the Hanover Conservancy. The Mill Pond Forest includes the north shore of Mill Pond, Hanover’s highest water body, and the primary headwaters of Mink Brook.

To get there take Ruddsboro Road to Old Dana Road then take the first right up Moose Mountain Road. There is a small parking area at the top. Walk up the tower road a short distance past the barrier and then turn right to the pond. The walk along the dam to Kay’s Bench and the area on the west side of the pond are the best spots for birding. This area is especially good during migration.
From Jim Block

Access to the trails on Moose Mountain’s south ridge is permanently protected, thanks to the gifts of conservation easements by Kay and Peter Shumway and Elisha and Anne Huggins in 2015.

For years, these two families built and maintained trails near Moose Mountain Lodge, welcoming the public to enjoy them by parking on their land and crossing their property to reach the trail network on the abutting Dana Pasture Natural Area (owned jointly by the Town and private heirs) and beyond.

The conserved Mill Pond Forest includes the north shore of Mill Pond, Hanover’s highest water body, and the primary headwaters of Mink Brook as it spills from the pond and falls down the mountainside through the conserved area. The easement also protects two early 19th-century mill sites on impressively steep terrain. Equally impressive are resident beavers’ dam-building skills; their dam is so large it can be seen on satellite imagery! The Huggins Trail Access forever protects public use of the main foot trail and parking area.

From Ruddsboro Road, take Old Dana Road approximately a mile in, then follow the (unsigned) gravel Moose Mountain Road to the very top, where a sign and gravel lot mark the Huggins Trail Access. Public trailhead parking is also available in several spots along Moose Mountain Road; all these trails connect to the Shumway Forest as well.